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Jack the Jackrabbit wasn’t in the delivery room when Dave and Elaine Gullickson’s three children were born, but that was about the only time they weren’t surrounded by a Yellow and Blue influence. Between going to sporting events, watching the Hobo Day parade, visiting the Dairy Bar and climbing Coughlin Campanile, the Gullickson children were frequently experiencing South Dakota State University. So, when it came time for Michele, Lori and Jeff to choose a college, it’s not surprising they stayed in Brookings and chose Jackrabbits for spouses. Fast forward a generation and eight of Dave and Elaine’s grandchildren also have become SDSU graduates or are attending SDSU. That’s why when it came time for the SDSU Alumni Association to choose its 2025 Family of the Year, the Gullicksons' nomination was impossible to ignore. The family will be honored at a March 1 awards luncheon at the Alumni Center and then at the women’s basketball game versus St. Thomas that afternoon.

Theater lives by the adage “The show must go on.” But when “on” means on the road, that’s another matter, and when it is 336 miles away at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, that’s another matter yet. But that was the case for 28 South Dakota State University theater students when they presented at the annual event in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 21.

Sgt. Wade Oorlog of the South Dakota State University Police Department was among 257 law enforcement officers who graduated in December from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

As we walk into the wet cement of 2025, it is appropriate to look back at the marks left by the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering in 2024. As Dean Sanjeev Kumar noted, it was a year of unprecedented accomplishments and dedicated efforts. Here is a sampling of the 2024 highlights:

Sen Subramanian has been named dean of the College of Natural Sciences at South Dakota State University.

South Dakota State University was awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support Native American students through the USDA’s New Beginnings for Tribal Students program. The grant, issued by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, aims to increase the retention and graduation of tribal students attending land-grant universities.

Four electrical engineering students at South Dakota State University students earned scholarships from a national organization for the current school year. The recipients are seniors Kalen Meyer and Luke Rasmussen, both of Rock Rapids, Iowa; and juniors Nicholas Erickson of Pierce, Nebraska, and Drake Rogers of Milbank.

For pharmacist Dean Schmiedt, it was right time at the right place. Shortly after graduation from South Dakota State University, the federal government enacted new regulations requiring that skilled nursing homes have a pharmacist review patients’ medications monthly. . His boss at Lovdahl’s Drug, in Little Falls, Minnesota, wasn’t interested in doing that task. Schmiedt, a 1973 SDSU grad, picked up the work as a side job. He ended up becoming a full-time independent consultant pharmacist and a leader in the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. Earlier this fall, Schmiedt, of Fort Ripley, Minnesota, was honored by SDSU’s College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions as its 2024 Distinguished Alumnus.

Yucheng Liu, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering, has become a Distinguished Member of the American Society for Engineering Education. He is in the first cohort to receive the title as this is a new designation for the organization, which seeks to advance engineering education at all levels of the profession. Liu has been a member since 2011 and has held offices in the organization since 2019.

Fall is such a wonderful time of year. On campus, we experience the excitement of the students returning to school to continue their studies. The trees prepare for their winter slumber. Amid all of these changes, I ponder all of the ways I am grateful to serve as the Roberta K. Olson Endowed Dean for Nursing.